How much do you guys think CPO is worth? 2 or 3K? Just curious, I've had some friends interested in my 2007 C2S 6-speed ($93K MSRP, 14K miles) and I just quoted the KBB of $57.5 (OEM warranty runs out 6/20/11, haven't purchased extended warranty yet). One of my boys is really eager to get a 997, I am just as likely to hold onto my whip until the 991 rolls out next year.

 

I found 6 pages of 2006 cars on auto trader with less than 30K miles. Some of the cars did not get a second look but there were a few in the mid 50's that looked decent .

I also found a few beautiful Turbos in the 80's (going up the price range)_ with less than 10K miles .

Given the pricing I feel these are the best values along with a NEW Cayman S .

 

It's not just the 2500 extra for the CPO . The trade in values are much lower . A typical example might be a trade in offer for your 07 car at 50K and then the dealership CPO's the car and lists it for 68900 and tries to get 63 . That's a 13K profit on a USED car along with the profit they make on the new car . It's huge .

If you buy the car private sale it's less which can pay for a lot of repairs if needed but it won't have the extra insurance that an authorized dealership's name verified the used car's upkeep quality. That goes a long way .. but it's not worth what many are asking (in my opinion).

My feeling is buy a new car .. even if it's a Cayman at the lower price levels .

 

So what would be reasonable private sale offer? I always heard KBB was too high and Edmunds was a more reliable indicator. I understand your point, buying from a authorized dealership is a premium, just like getting my Explorer 2 which has a 2 year AD warranty.

 

To put the prices into perspective..I was in the same boat as you for the past 3-4 months.

I bought my car two weeks ago: private party- '06C2S/6MT/Full supple leather/Bose/Nav/Sport chrono plus/Sport shifter/Power heated memory seats/XM/Ipod with 42K miles for below $45K including tax/title/license. My state tax rate is 6%, so you can figure out what I paid for the car itself. The car still has CPO warranty till the Spring of 2012.

It wasn't a "garage queen"...but I bought the car to drive it so I can overlook a bit of curb rash on the rim if you know what I mean. The car had service records and the PPI was clean.

There are cars out there..be patient. it's a buyer's market. Good luck.

 

I think the thing to consider in addition to the value of the warranty itself (I think ~$3k is a good figure) is the work that was done to the car to make it eligible for CPO. Obviously, that is going to vary from car to car, so it's hard to put an exact number on it. My car got $2400 worth of work (granted, at dealer prices) as part of the certification process - 2 new tires, new front rotors and pads, brake fluid flush, new belt, and a few other odds and ends.

Most of the CPO cars that I looked at over the last few months had a repair bill of between $1000-$2500 to get through certification. Certainly, a private party sale could have had the same work done, but what's the likelihood that someone is going to spend a couple grand fixing up a car before selling? You really need a PPI including estimates of remaining life on major wear items in order to fully evaluate the price-value equation against a similarly equipped CPO car.

 

Having purchased my 06S late last year I would agree that it is (or was) a buyer's market. I looked for awhile, wasn't in a hurry and ended up buying mine end of November. Not a CPO or garage queen but at 39K mi, complete service records, clean PPI, no overrevs and a MSRP of $95K I feel like the $40K I paid following spirited negotiations with a dealer was a bargain. Take your time and enjoy the hunt. Your car is out there somewhere!